The latest generation of cellular communications, the fifth-generation (or 5G) network, is being implemented for use in conjunction with existing fourth-generation long term evolution (4G LTE, or just 4G) networks. The 5G network provides improved capacity, reduced latency, and increased speed. In current implementations, the 5G network is often used for applications for which the 5G network is particularly suited, like large file downloads; while the 4G network may be used simultaneously for applications for which the 4G network is particularly suited, like voice calls.
The 4G network generally operates with a relatively low frequency band (e.g., ˜600-2300 MHz) within the communications frequency spectrum. 5G, on the other hand, while including some lower frequencies, also contains large blocks in the higher frequency band of the millimeter-wave (mm-wave) spectrum (e.g., 24-86 GHz). All things being equal, higher frequency bands tend to provide shorter propagation distances and shallower penetrations (e.g., into buildings and/or through walls) when compared to lower frequency bands. As a result, when a user equipment (UE) is connected to both 4G and 5G networks at the same time from relatively the same distance (e.g., from the same wireless base station, or WBS), the 5G connection will tend to drop before the 4G connection as the UE moves away from the WBS. Without some management of these connections, the dropped connections may appear as dropped calls for the 5G WBS, which may negatively affect error reporting statistics, among other things.